The present invention relates to a storage and delivery device for packed foods retained in containers with predetermined shapes so that a robot can easily handle the packed foods. The packed foods in the containers are placed and housed in multiple shelves, and stored in a refrigerated condition, and upon request, the containers with the packed foods are taken out from the shelves by the robot and delivered therefrom after defrosting or boiling the containers.
In recent years, fast-food restaurants have stored packed foods in a refrigerated condition, and at a meal time, the packed food is taken out individually upon customer's order and is delivered after being defrosted or boiled. The delivery of the foods was made manually.
Conventional methods for delivering the packed foods cause various problems:
(1) Basically, it is preferable to automatically deliver the stored foods. However, it is technically very difficult to automatically handle the packed foods because the forms or shapes of the packed foods are not constant and change easily.
(2) Since the customer may often wait for a long time, the time required to deliver the packed foods should be reduced.
(3) The packed foods are not stored efficiently, and it is difficult to apply the principle of using the foods in the stored order.
It is the object of the invention to provide a storage and delivery device for packed foods, wherein the packed foods are stored, automatically taken out based on the order, and are delivered after necessary processing. Especially, in the device, the packed foods are stored efficiently, and are delivered smoothly from shelves according to the principle of using the foods in the stored order to thereby reduce time required to deliver the packed foods.